How Gamma Knife varies from Radiotherapy?

There are two important aspects that differentiate Gamma Knife from conventional radiotherapy.

1. Beams are characterized with anatomic tissue selectivity. The error margin is 0.2 mm, thanks to the anatomic selectivity. However, healthy tissue is exposed to radiation beams, along with the tumor, in conventional therapy, resulting with further risk of tissue damage.

2. For Gamma Knife surgery, energy delivered to tumor tissue is equal to sum of the energy delivered to the tumor in 30 sessions of conventional radiotherapy. Therefore, this therapy is not organized in sessions. Radiation beams are accurately delivered to the target tissue, since this therapy is characterized with high-dose selectivity. Superior anatomic selectivity is the reason to name this modality as “Gamma Knife”. Therefore, neurosurgeons use this technique. It is one of neurosurgical procedures and a type of surgery. It is used as alternative or to complement a surgery, rather than radiotherapy.

What are neurosurgical conditions, which can be treated using Gamma knife?